My neighbors dog is really starting to scare me. I don't know what breed he is, I just know he's big and he's mean. He usually sits by the fence and barks his fool head off whenever anyone steps outside. Recently, he's started to act more vicious; the hair on his back rises, he starts with this really loud growl and stands with his head through the fence whenever I ride by with the horses. Besides the fact that it's super annoying and I've already killed him a thousand times in my head, it's made the horses a little more tolerant. Today, my mum and I were riding together, me on my gelding and my mum on her new horse, it was going really good. The dog had decided to go away for a while, so I went all the way down to the end of the field, and it happened so fast I didn't even have time to do anything. The dog came around the garage, just flying, teeth bared and barking. By the time I had seen it, so had my horse and he jumped sideways, nearly sending me out of the saddle. Then the dog came through the fence, onto our property and came after me and my gelding and he did not look like he wanted to play. Since he was on our side of the fence I didn't think twice about driving his head into the ground with my horse's hooves, so I chased after him, screaming at him, all the while the neighbors stayed inside, absolutely oblivious to anything that was happening. When I had chased the stupid thing back to his own side of the fence, my mum had already dismounted and handed her reins to me and told me to take the horses back to the barn. Halfway up the field I turned back and saw that the dog was going after my mother. She was just about to throw her helmet at the dog when the neighbors finally came outside to see what was going on. I have never seen my mum so angry before. She yelled at them, clearly telling them that she was not happy and then we left, went back to the barn and untacked. It's not the first time the dog has come through the fence, but it is the first time he's come at me and the horses with viscous intent. Obviously the neighbors wont do anything, so what should I do? My mum said the next time he comes over and she can get her hands on him, she's going to lock him in a stall and call the pound. After today though, I doubt she would get away uninjured. I was thinking about putting my saddlebag on and filling it with rocks, so the next time I can whip rocks at him. Later, we were telling a close family friend what had happened and she suggested carrying an airsoft gun. I don't really want to kill the dog, but I don't want myself, my mother, or my horses to be victims of a dog attack, what seems like the more logical root to take?

Give your neighbors one chance and tell them that if the dog comes on your property again that you're going to hurt it or call the authorities. Next time he comes by acting agressive, call them and have them pick the dog up. No reason for anyone to get hurt.

There was a big thread about this a while back. Honestly, if he's on your land chasing your horses (livestock) it is legal to shoot to kill the dog. Now I'm an animal lover too and that would be hard for me to do, but maybe reminding your neighbors about this law might make them try a little harder to contain their dog.

I thought you handled the situation pretty good (avoiding getting hurt) never run away from the dog, always at while making lots of noise. Having stuff to throw is good for distraction, an air soft gun is even better as the dog will associate chasing the horse with pain and a bad thing and it won't kill the dog.

No dog should ever chase any wildlife or any other domestic amimals and especially no humans! Call the authorities asap before something really bad happens!!!!!!! My horse got bit my a dog not to long ago and it was not that bad that I called anybody but trust me next time I will immediately! People need to take responsibility for their animals!!!

I would go with a paintball gun or pellet gun, tell the owners that you are going to notify the police if it happens again. When you've given that warning to all parties involved, they know that you mean business and it's not acceptable for the dog to come on your property and threaten you..Once you've given them fair warning, called the police and if still nothing is done..If the dog comes on your property and even looks like it's thinking about chasing and/or hurting you. Kill it...

I'm not sure what the local laws or ordinances are up your way, but often a dog owner who is not taking resposibility for their dog can be ticketed and fined. Call the appropriate authorities..... a hefty fine will usually get the point across rather well.
If that isn't an option for you then defend yourself and horses.

I would caution you/your mum about trying to catch the dog. Sounds like it will attack or bite and those injuries are no fun. A camera works well to prove the animal was on your property and/or harassing you/your horses and might be just was you need to show authorities. Cameras on phones work well.

At any rate, find out what the laws are for your area and use them to their full advantage, whatever way you are comfortable doing so.
(I say it that way because only you can decide what you are comfortable doing... rocks, paint gun, something with more force....)

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the The Horse Forum forums, you must first register.

Already have a Horse Forum account?
Members are allowed only one account per person at the Horse Forum, so if you've made an account here in the past you'll need to continue using that account. Please do not create a new account or you may lose access to the Horse Forum. If you need help recovering your existing account, please Contact Us. We'll be glad to help!

New to the Horse Forum?Please choose a username you will be satisfied with using for the duration of your membership at the Horse Forum. We do not change members' usernames upon request because that would make it difficult for everyone to keep track of who is who on the forum. For that reason, please do not incorporate your horse's name into your username so that you are not stuck with a username related to a horse you may no longer have some day, or use any other username you may no longer identify with or care for in the future.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

Log-in

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.

Old Thread Warning

This thread is more than 90 days old. When a thread is this old, it is often better to start a new thread rather than post to it. However, If you feel you have something of value to add to this particular thread, you can do so by checking the box below before submitting your post.I am aware that this is an old thread and I want to revive it rather than starting a new thread.